No I'm Not Having Any Fun
by Strawberrymilkglass
Summary: This is an AU of an AU right. So this one is about Vey being ordered to protect both Thor and Loki before the very first Thor movie. Vey has to obey Frigga and of course she orders Vey to protect them.
1. Chapter 1

"Verbannen do you swear to protect my sons for the rest of your unnaturally long life? To serve and advise them to the best of your ability?"

Queen Frigga's voice rang out through the silent hall. Every eye in Asgard was trained on me, boring into me. The hatred in their gazes was palpable.

"I swear." I heard myself say in a voice that could have been mistaken for being passionate.

This didn't feel like it was happening to me. I felt like I was watching some other creature kneel before the queen, pledging herself to two princes. This couldn't really be happening, could it?

My eyes flickered to the princes from where I had been staring at the floor, head bowed. The blond one looked at me with distaste, a sneer on his lips. He reminded me of his father who I hated so much.

Frigga instructed me to rise to my feet and I did, raising my chin to shake off my fear and disgust. The black haired one was staring at me too, though his face wasn't pinched in hatred as fervently as the others. He was the easiest to look at, so I kept looking at him.

As part of the ceremony, I ascended the steps to where they were standing, side by side. I had to reach out and place one hand on each of their hands so that Frigga could physically brand the backs of my hands with symbols as a way to remind me of my duty.

I shivered as my skin touched both of the princes'. The blond boy's hand was scarred and calloused, I noticed, and he held himself stiffly as if he didn't want me to touch him. The raven haired boy's hand was strangely cold and longer than his brothers. I had a wandering thought that was something about how they didn't look alike.

Frigga muttered something and I felt like I had stuck my hands in a fire. I forced myself not to react. Two silver burns appeared on the black skin of my hands, symbols marking me as a protector. As a servant.

"It is done." Frigga declared, raising her voice so that the entire hall could hear her. "This woman, this -" monster, I thought. "- mighty force of darkness, is a killer no more. She will serve my sons and protect them from their enemies and shield our house from evil."

I loud clapping assaulted me from the crowd. I snatched my hands away from the princes without meaning to.

I stared at nothing behind the princes, overwhelmed that I had lost my freedom twice now.

I was led out of the hall by a group of guards, back to the room that they had given me. I slowly stepped into the room and the doors were slammed closed behind me and I was left alone.

I just stood there for a while, staring at the polished granite floor, rubbing the backs of my hands.

I had just been sold off. Like livestock. Never in a thousand years would I have dreamed that Queen Frigga would summon me back here, never. I hadn't anticipated this. What was I supposed to do?

I melted into smoke and rushed under the bed where there were hundreds of gouges my nails had gouged into the wood.

I had been banished from Asgard a long time ago. I had used to be an Asgardian, but I hated the static of it. I was sought out by a dark elf who offered to make me immortal and give me ground shattering power, but first I had to kill the king, Bor at the time, and bring his head to the she-elf.

It took a long time, but I did as I was asked. The result ended up forcing me to carve my heart out of my chest, which then turned into a large ruby that Queen Frigga eventually captured. She had banished me from Asgard, never to return. I was made unable to remember my name, even if I heard it said I would instantly forget it. Time and darkness and power melded me into a creature that could melt into shadow whenever I felt inclined and it took effort to keep a solid form. I could create objects out of my shadows, anything from cloth to knives.

I scratched at the bed until I my skin didn't feel like it was on fire. I even put some gouges in the granite on the floor.

After a while I moved out from under the bed.

I ripped off the white dress I had been given, throwing it onto the bed. I willed cloth to wrap around my chest, forming a smooth triangle that pointed toward my stomach and wrapped around my back. I also conjured baggy pants out of the same black cloth. This was leagues better than that damned scratchy dress.

I ended up in the bathroom, staring at myself in the gold rimmed mirror on the wall.

My blank eyes stared back at me, the same snowy white as my hair. I had a small nose, pointed ears, big lips. I angrily wiped away a tear that had formed in my right eye, smudging the white make up I had put on my face.

I had wanted to look as strikingly un-Asgardian as was possible for the ceremony, so I had painted white lines that stood out starkly against my black skin. I had put dots under my eyes, a stripe down my chin and several straight angled lines on my forehead.

I had actually been pleased with the outcome, but I had just ruined it.

I scowled at myself and wrenched the tap to the sink on. I pulled too hard and the golden handle snapped off in my hand and I swore and threw it on the ground where it clanged loudly. I turned on the cold water and roughly scrubbed all the paint from my face, making a mess of the sink.

I stalked out of the bath and I was about to retreat under the bed again when a knock came on the door.

"What?" I snapped.

"Prince Loki requests your presence." Came the irritated reply through the door.

I rolled my eyes at the ceiling. Which one was that? The blond one?

"What does he want?"

"That's none of my business." Clipped the servant.

Usually servants would say "My lady" but apparently I was too low class for that.

"Fine." I hissed, striding to the door and throwing it open.

The servant made a visible effort not to look disgusted by me and turned and walked away, intending for me to follow him.

He led me to the gardens, surprisingly, as most of the celebrations were taking place in the grand hall.

He left me in front of a maze of tall, dark hedges with white berries.

I contemplated the plants for a moment. Why the hell was he having me meet him here?

I glanced over my shoulder, seeing no one, nothing but the immense golden castle, glowing in the setting sun.

I disappeared into a shadow and ventured into the maze.

ᵩᵩᵩ

I wandered among the hedges for a while, not really wanting to find Loki. The hedges didn't made a maze really, more of a path that had occasionally had a fork that lead off somewhere else.

I eventually found Loki in a clearing, standing in front of a small crystalline pond. The grass was a dark green here, black in the low light. The hedges had strange vivid flowers that seemed to change color as I moved. Little balls of light drifted lazily through the glade.

I didn't want to materialize unless he made me, so I drifted around the flower bushes, watching him.

He wasn't the blonde one, as it turned out, he was the one with black hair. He was dressed in green and gold armor, his face narrow and pale. His green eyes seemed to not be focused on nothing; his angular face suggested that he was deep in thought.

His eyes suddenly became focused and he straightened up.

"Verbannen?" He asked. He had a quiet voice, one that was smooth with an undertone of a growl.

My lip curled. I hated it when people said my name.

Loki turned around, his bright eyes scanning the garden. His eyes rested on the bush I was hovering around.

"Show yourself." He said quietly.

I inhaled sharply through my nose, but I materialized next to the hedge.

Loki's emerald eyes studied me and I held my chin up and narrowed my eyes at him.

I crossed my arms subconsciously, his gaze unnerved me. He was scrutinizing me in a way that was icy and calculating. Like I was a tool for him to exploit.

"It displeases you to hear your name?" He inquired.

I tore my eyes off of him and glanced around the glen, letting out a humorless laugh.

"If you were cursed not to be able to remember a word, and people kept saying it over and over, don't you think it would get on your nerves?" I said shortly, tapping my arm with my fingernails.

He didn't laugh.

"You are sworn to obey me, yes?" Loki asked, changing the subject.

I lowered one eyebrow slightly. "…And your brother, yes…but my first loyalty is to the Queen so long as she holds my heart."

Loki nodded, deeply immersed in thought.

"And if I order you to keep information disclosed…" Loki said slowly, walking slowly toward one of the dark prickly shrubs on the opposite side of me. "Would you?"

I blinked, confused. "I would – I mean, I'd have to unless the Queen ordered me to tell her your secret."

"And if my brother demanded that you tell him?"

My eyes wandered to the sky. "I don't guess that I would have to tell him… I think that you both have the same amount of power over… me…"

I trailed off, frowning. "Why?"

He glanced at me, a slight smirk on his lips.

"No reason. Speak of this to no one, understand?" Loki said, seeming satisfied about something.

I pursed my lips and nodded curtly.

"Good." Loki nodded.

He turned to leave and I felt my face burning in anger, but I wasn't allowed to express it in any way and it felt humiliating.

Loki stopped at the entrance to the clearing, his back toward me.

He looked up, and I did too, wondering what he was looking at.

A million stars had come out, nebulous purple and blue gas streaking the dark sky.

"I think…" Loki said quietly. "Yes. It should be about time."

I narrowed my eyes in confusion as he turned around and strode up to one of the bushes.

I was about to ask what he was doing when the shrub suddenly came to life; tiny buds that had dotted the dark leaves suddenly opened up to a pure, brilliant white, the petals glowing with soft light.

"These flowers only bloom under the stars of my ancestors." Loki said quietly, reaching out a slender finger to touch one of the flowers.

The beautiful bloom opened up wider, letting out a little puff of glowing powder.

Loki picked several of the buds from the shrub and placed them in a bottle. He glanced at me and gave me the smallest of smiles before walking out of the garden.

ᵩᵩᵩ


	2. Chapter 2

Several days went by with no one speaking to me at all.

Of course, I preferred this over people bothering me constantly. I was very used to solitude and it was comforting to be left alone for a time and collect myself.

Servants came and went three times a day, taking away the uneaten food from the last meal and leaving a fresh tray on the golden table in my room.

I preferred eating things that were still trying to escape, so I wasn't tempted by the bread and fruit and cold meat.

I stayed holed up under the bed for a few days before I felt like going anywhere. Even then, I just darted among the rafters to keep out of sight of the servants. I visited the library several times because it was quiet and few had access to the wealth of knowledge that it contained. I was apparently one of the few, because no one stopped me from going there.

I mostly left my room at night when there were less people about.

Loki saw me in the library a week after he had spoken with me; it was late in the night so I didn't expect anyone else to be there, so I had taken a solid form to pick at the books.

We had a short conversation about nothing important; he seemed to be immersed in the books he had spread out on the table in front of him.

Two or three weeks went by like this; occasionally bumping into Loki where I didn't expect to see him. Not eating. A lot of sulking and a little bit of crying for my lost freedom.

I was eventually forced to interact with Thor as well; he had a servant summon me to him on the third week.

Thor was unlike his brother in both looks and demeanor; he took little seriously and was always laughing or drinking or joking. I would have been alright with him if he hadn't taken on his father's opinion on me; that I was a monster, a low, vile thing that deserved as much respect as the bottom of his shoe.

"Verbannen!" He declared loudly at the sight of me. "I am going hunting for bildshnipe and mother has insisted that you accompany me."

That was pretty much all that he said to me for the entire trip. He took me to Alfhiem where these monsters lived and he spend several days in the woods with his friends, drinking and celebrating and being loud. I was astounded that he managed not to scare every last bildshnipe away for miles, but he caught one on the fifth day. It was a hideous thing; green scales covered its deer-like body, it had large taloned feet and the biggest antlers of any creature I had ever seen.

I had to carry it back.

I was actually somewhat relived to return to Asgard where I could be by myself.

Thor went out into the city to celebrate and show off his catch and I retreated to my room.

I had just settled down for a few hours of sulking when a servant knocked on the door.

I sighed loudly. "What?"

"The Queen requests your presence." Came the short reply.

"Fine."

I squeezed under the door and rushed past the servant to look for Frigga.

I found her in one of the halls that were lined with stained glass windows which cast very faint multicolored light on the hall floor. Queen Frigga had her back to me, observing the stained glass pictures that moved and warped to add life to what they depicted.

"You requested my presence, Queen?" I addressed.

"Yes." She said, her back still toward me. "I will soon need you to keep careful watch over my sons, especially Thor."

"Alright." I said, waiting for what else she had to say.

She sighed ever so slightly and turned to face me. Her worn face showed worry and she was picking at her left hand.

"Thor is going to be crowned King of Asgard soon." She told me. "I need you to be sure that there are no attempts on his life during the ceremony."

I nodded, my eyes flicking down to the floor. "Is that what troubles you, or is there something else?"

Queen Frigga pursed her lips.

"…I worry if he is old enough to be crowned king yet." She said softly. "I love him dearly, but he is often undiplomatic in his decisions and words."

That seems like a vast understatement I thought to myself.

"He will have advisors, yes?" I asked.

"Yes, I suppose." Queen Frigga mused. "Whether he will listen to them or not is another story entirely."

"Well it's the Allfather's decision in the end, isn't it?" I murmured darkly.

Queen Frigga frowned at me a little for spitting Odin's name.

"That is all that I needed to tell you." Queen Frigga said, glancing back to the stained windows. "You are not to tell Thor or Loki what I said, alright?"

I nodded.

"Good. You're free to go then."

Queen Frigga turned back to the window, her blue eyes heavy with worry.

I left her in the dark hall, staring at nothing, and I went back to my room.

When I squeezed under the door I was startled to see Loki in my room, standing by the window and looking out; reminding me strikingly of his mother.

"What are you doing in here?" I demanded loudly, solidifying and stalking up to him angrily.

He turned and raised his eyebrows at me. "Temper. I was looking for you and I couldn't find you, so I waited here."

I felt my fists shaking at my sides. "You could have – sent someone for me – you didn't have to come in here!" I shouted, anger boiling up in my stomach.

Loki looked at me strangely, lowering one eyebrow.

I felt my nails bite into the palms of my hands and I felt my whole body starting to shake.

"THIS IS THE LAST PLACE I HAVE TO ESCAPE FROM YOU ASGARDIANS AND I DON'T – WANT – ANY – OF – YOU – HERE!" I bellowed, rage and pain and humiliation breaking through my carefully constructed wall of indifference.

Loki was silent, just staring at me while I trembled in rage, tears pricking my eyes while I waited for him to shout at me or laugh at Oc

"…I'm sorry Vey." He said quietly after a minute.

I blinked, the knot in my stomach loosening. What?

"I didn't realize that your privacy meant so much to you." He went on, his voice soft. "I won't invade your space again."

I was too surprised to say anything for a minute until I realized that I was gawking at him and I turned away to compose myself.

"What did you want, anyway?" I rasped, trying to discreetly wipe my eyes.

"It can wait until morning." He said, heading for the door. "I'll be in the gardens tomorrow at dawn."

And with that he walked out and closed the doors behind him.

ᵩᵩᵩ

I stayed under the bed all night, confused as to why in the Nine he had apologized to me. None of them saw me as a creature equal to them, so why would they treat me like anything other than vermin? And he had called me Vey. Did that mean something I wasn't aware of?

Just before dawn broke I left my room and went out to the gardens.

I was very curious about a lot of things now, so I made no haste in searching for him.

I found him outside of the hedges, standing by a lake bordered with silvery willow trees.

"Hello." I said quietly, appearing behind him and crossing my arms.

He turned and smiled a little at me. "Good morning."

I didn't move, eyeing him warily. What was this guy's deal?

"Again, I apologize for encroaching on your privacy yesterday." He said.

"It's okay." I said quietly. "What did you want from me in the first place?"

He pursed his lips and glanced around us as if to be sure that we were alone.

"Well," He began, starting to walk toward the willow lined path along the lake. "I need your assistance with something."

I tilted my head. "With…?"

He stopped walking and looked at me sternly.

"You will speak of this to no one, understand? This is strictly between the two of us." He said seriously.

"Yes, yes, you have my word." I said irritably. "Enough with your secrets! Tell me, what did you want?"

Loki regarded me for an instant, narrowing his eyes as if to decide if I was lying, but I couldn't be; he told me to do something and I had no choice but to.

"My brother's coronation approaches, have you been told of this?" He asked me.

I nodded.

"Well, if you've spent any time with my brother, surely you have noticed that he isn't fit to run a kingdom."

I raised my eyebrows at him, surprised.

"I would agree with you if I didn't believe this to be an elaborate trap to get me into trouble." I replied as we walked on.

Loki chuckled humorlessly. "No, it isn't. My brother is an idiot, and vastly unfit to sit on the throne."

I glanced around, sure that this was a hoax.

"…I agree. Although I assumed his brashness was simply due to his hatred of me." I said quietly.

Loki glanced at me in distrust. "Are you truly of that opinion, or do you just want to appease me?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but he interrupted me.

"And speak the truth to me, I command it."

I snapped my jaw shut, irritated. It severely got under my skin that he was ordering me around, even if he did command me.

"Thor is an idiot, and I wish to see him on the throne less than I wish to see a bildshnipe sat there." I snapped.

Loki nodded, seeming satisfied.

"Good. I don't intend to allow my brother to take the throne so easily, and I will delay his coronation as long as I possibly can." Loki mused.

"How are you going to do that?" I inquired.

"I am going to bring a band of frost giants into the weapon vault." Loki said quickly. "This will make Thor argue with father and delay him sitting the throne."

I stumbled on a stray root.

"You are?" I asked, recovering from my surprise. "How in the Nine do you intend to do that? Hiemdall controls the Bifrost; that's the only way to get here, unless you have some hidden powers that allow you to teleport between worlds."

He smirked widely, looking satisfied and I squinted at him.

"I will need your help true, but I need neither Hiemdall nor the Bifrost to leave this world." Loki said, a fallen twig snapping under his boot.

"What do you need me to do?" I asked, intrigued.

"Just to assist me, should I need it." He said, lowering his voice. "If something goes wrong they will plausibly attack me. Most likely I would be able to handle them with no trouble, but it's better to be prepared."

"When are you going to bring them here?" I asked.

"Just before the ceremony." Loki said. "I'll summon you when I need you."

We walked for a few minutes in silence. I didn't really know what to say to Loki. I still wasn't entirely convinced that he would go through with this deed and that I wasn't being lied to.

"When was the last time that you've eaten?" Loki asked abruptly.

"Huh?" I asked, taken off guard. "Oh. I don't know. Before I was summoned here."

Loki looked at me. "That's been nearly a month."

I shrugged.

"Well you need to eat in order to keep your strength up." Loki went on. "What do you usually eat?"

"Creatures that aren't quite dead usually." I said casually, looking out at the lake that was shining in the morning sun.

Loki pondered this. "Will you eat an animal if it is brought to you?"

I frowned. "I guess… I'd rather catch it myself though."

Loki nodded. "Very well. Hunt for yourself then."

I looked at him, a bit surprised. "I can't leave the grounds, Frigga ordered me not to."

Loki frowned. "I suppose I must go with you then. If I leave the grounds, you must follow me, yes?"

"Yeah, I think so." I said, weirded out by how nice and accommodating he was acting.

"Good." He said, with the air of someone who had come to a decision. "I'll let mother know I'm going hunting and that you're accompanying me. We will go in the evening, so I will come to your room to get you when it's time. Until then, you can do as you please."

I retreated to my room not long after that, perplexed.

I had meant to ask Loki where he got the name "Vey" from, but his new information had made me forget completely about it.

After the sun had gone down, I heard a knock on my door and when I answered it I was displeased to see both Loki and Thor outside.

"Come, woman, the best time for hunting is just after the sun sets." Thor laughed and I swiveled my head to look at Loki without moving my eyes.

He gave the tiniest shrug and I pursed my lips, nettled by Thor calling me "woman".

We left the castle on a small ship that didn't have a roof which was made for small journeys.

The stars were well out by the time we left the boat and ventured into the forest, which Thor was verbally displeased about.

"If you carry on that racket, brother, you'll alert every creature in the Nine of our whereabouts." Loki said, a small smirk to show that he was teasing.

Thor laughed heartily and I wandered away from the two of them, sniffing around for the smell of blood.

I had to get well away from them before I was able to find anything; eventually though I found a stag with innumerable antlers that all ended in sharp points. It had four yellow eyes, two on each side of its head. It was a beautiful creature really, it was too bad that I was so hungry.

Normally I wouldn't hunt animals; I preferred eating people. Midgardians, Jotuns, demons, fairies, whatever was around. They had much more energy and life force than I could get from an animal.

I watched the stag for several long minutes, waiting to pounce. I was just about to leap from the bushes when I heard a twig snap near me and the deer bolted.

I swore loudly, hearing Thor do the same, and I tore after the stag, determined not to let it get away from me.

This stag was blisteringly fast, far too fast for an Asgardian on foot to catch, but I was no Asgardian.

I caught up to it within two minutes, lunging onto its back from behind it. The deer crashed to the ground and immediately tried to get up, rearing its antlers violently, but I was too fast.

I sunk my teeth into its neck and tore out a massive chunk, its hot blood spurting onto my face.

It jumped so hard that it threw me off and managed to get up, but it only ran a few more yards before I knocked it down again.

The deer's fighting became weaker and weaker as I tore it apart, savoring the life force that I was gaining from it.

By the time that Loki and Thor caught up to me, I had rendered the deer unrecognizable and I was sitting beside it, munching on a large chunk of its leg.

Thor curled his lip at the sight of me, and before he could voice his disapproval, I interrupted him.

"This is just part of nature, young prince." I said, blood dripping down my chin. "You don't hate the wolf for feeding on a stag, do you?"

"You are no wolf." Thor growled. "You were an Asgardian; it's not natural for one of us to feed the way you do."

I shrugged and tore another chunk of the deer off with my talons.

"Your vile nature aside, that stag was rightfully mine." Thor complained loudly.

I swallowed the bite I had been chewing. "I had been lying in wait long before you plodded up and scared it off."

Thor opened his mouth to spit a rebuttal, but Loki put a hand on his chest.

"Let it go, brother. You wouldn't have been able to chase that stag down anyway." Loki said.

"I could so!" Thor argued.

"You didn't." I chimed in.

"ENOUGH!" Thor boomed. "I will not be spoken to like this by a monster! You are not to speak back to me again, do you understand?"

I dropped the piece of meat I was holding, glaring at him.

"…Of course, your highness." I hissed with as much venom as I could put into three words.

He glowered at me back, his eyes darting to the torn carcass beside me.

"Also. Rid your stomach of the meat you've eaten." He demanded, a cruel smile tugging on his mouth.

My eyes widened. Yggdrasil be damned.

My stomach lurched involuntarily and my throat tightened.

"Brother, this is hardly necessary –" Loki began quickly.

"She needs to know her place." Thor snapped. "She killed our grandfather, have you forgotten?"

My stomach lurched again, harder this time. I started to cough, my stomach twisting horribly.

"Verbannen, stop!" Loki ordered and I was just saved from being horribly sick.

"Verbannen do not hear my brother! Be sick!" Thor demanded.

Thor and Loki started arguing loudly, throwing opposing commands at me.

They kept fighting until I was forced to be sick, throwing up all of the meat that I had eaten in a gory hideous mess.

My arms were shaking and I could only vaguely hear Loki shouting at Thor.

"There is no sense in being so cruel Thor, do you really think that it's kingly to be so stupid –"

"I think that it's "kingly" to bring justice to those who have wronged our family –!"

I morphed into smoke and darted away from them and collapsed behind a bush and coughed some more. I felt like I was going to faint, my head was spinning and I just wanted to sleep.

I did end up blacking out and when I woke up I was back in the castle cocooned in soft blankets.

I groaned, feeling weak, but better than I did.

I was about to roll over and go back to sleep, but before I did a soft knock came at the door.

I inhaled deeply, trying to ready myself for more of Thor or whoever else was out there.

I forced myself out of bed and I eased the door open, suspiciously squinting out.

Loki was standing there, his serious emerald eyes scanning over me worriedly.

"Vey are you alright?" He asked quickly. "Can I come in?"

I pushed the door open wider and walked back inside. He followed on my heels, lighting the candles with a flick of his wrist.

Loki looked at me, looking like he didn't really know what he wanted to say to me.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I knew Thor wouldn't be the kindest to you, but I never dreamed he would be outright cruel to you."

I sat down in one of the armchairs by the window.

"What day is his coronation?" I deadpanned.

Loki was quiet for a minute, watching me. "Three days."

I glanced at him. "Well. We had better figure out which Jotuns we're going to bring here then."


	3. Chapter 3

The castle buzzed in preparation for Thor's coronation over the next few days.

I sulked in my room away from the noise until Loki came for me the evening before the coronation day.

We slipped out of the castle unnoticed, heading through the city toward the woods.

Loki disguised himself as an old man with a heavy hood over his face and I kept in his shadow to avoid being seen. No one paid us a glance however, we were invisible in the hustle of the lantern lit city.

We took a horse at the edge of the city and Loki rode for about an hour while I trailed after him in smoke.

He stopped in the middle of the dark woods and I materialized beside him and looked around.

There didn't seem to be anything extraordinary here; just the silent aging trees and the moss-carpeted forest floor.

Loki seemed to believe that we were somewhere important however, because he leapt silently off of his horse onto the ground and motioned for me to follow him.

"What are we doing here?" I said in a hushed voice. I didn't know why, but I felt like it was wrong to raise my voice above anything other than a whisper, as if I would disturb the sleeping woods.

"Do you sense nothing here?" He asked cryptically.

I frowned. I stopped walking, broadening my senses and trying to detect something abnormal.

I closed my eyes for a minute, searching. I vaguely heard Loki stop walking.

…I did sense something, I realized, something very faint like a candle flickering low in its holder.

I set off, heading toward where I sensed this thing to be.

This small presence was getting stronger as I walked and I moved faster as I sensed it getting closer.

I ended up in a full out run, determined to find whatever I was looking for.

I stopped abruptly.

There was an ethereal sort of veil hovering between two trees, forming a thin watery portal.

The moss was frozen around the doorway, frost blanketed everything around the portal and several icicles had formed on the tree branches.

"It's a gateway?" I said to myself, reaching out a hand to it.

"Yes." Said Loki, seeming to appear beside me. "It's a portal that leads to Jotunheim near the castle."

I regarded him in surprise.

"How did you manage to find this?" I asked, bewildered.]

"It was no accident that I came across it." Loki said, looking satisfied. "It took several years of searching to find."

"Hm." I nodded, impressed.

Loki stepped through the portal and I followed after him.

It had been like stepping through a doorway, one second I was on Asgard in the silent forest, the next I was standing in deep snow on the blue surface of Jotunheim.

I followed after Loki, keeping an eye out for Jotuns. They had despised Asgardians since the last Great War and they would attack him without a pause if they caught him off guard.

The portal was so close to the castle that it only took us a few minutes to get there. One could hardly call it a castle; since the Casket of Ancient Winters had been taken, it had fallen into disrepair and was little more than a grouping of icy pillars now.

Loki shrouded himself with invisibility and not long after we encountered a group of Jotuns who were sitting at an icy slab of a table, drinking some kind of ale. They were larger than Asgardians, usually about eight feet tall with dark blue skin covered in markings that meant something to their tribe. They had eyes that were completely crimson except for their pupils.

I didn't know how Loki actually planned on getting them to the portal until he reached a hand out to them and one of their eyes glazed over.

"I think we should go out tonight." He said dimly.

"What? What are you on about?" Another one growled.

"We should go out hunting!" The frost giant boomed, slamming a fist down on the table.

A different one rolled his red eyes. "Will you shut the hell up if we do?"

They all laughed, but got up from the table and followed the one Loki was manipulating.

Loki led the frost giant and his companions back to the portal. He cast magic over them as they filed unknowingly through the portal.

Once the last one was through, Loki instantly hid the portal so that they couldn't backtrack and the Jotuns all let out surprised bellows.

They were rather stupid for a few minutes, dumbly yelling at each other and trying to figure out where they were.

Loki took control of the leader's mind again and he announced that they had to be on Asgard to the shock of the others.

Through the Jotun, Loki told the group of his plan. The Jotuns knew about Thor's coronation apparently; I was probably the last being in the Nine to be informed which irritated me. Nevertheless, Loki told them that they would be able to break into the weapons vault during the ceremony when everyone would have their attentions on the palace.

The frost giants all agreed ecstatically, saying that the house of Odin would pay for the ancient blood that they had spilled.

We left them as they formulated how they would get into the castle. I asked Loki if they would be able to make it into the vaults without being seen, but he assured me that once they had a plan, the Jotuns would stop at nothing to go through with it.

It was dawn by the time we got back and Loki said that we only had an hour until Thor's ceremony.

I begrudgingly put on a dress that Loki that the servants bring, although he told me that I could just stay in his shadow unless I was ordered otherwise.

Loki didn't go to the hall immediately, he changed into full armor and put his horned helmet on in preparation and then he headed to a separate hall.

He waited behind a curtain, I didn't ask why, and I sulked in the shadowy corners of the room.

The doors to the hall were thrown open, and there was Thor, loud and overjoyed. He threw a cup he was holding into the fire in the middle of the room and bellowed "ANOTHER!" and I sighed grumpily from the shadows.

Loki emerged from behind the curtain and Thor laughed at the sight of him and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Nervous, brother?" Loki asked, grinning.

"Have you ever known me to be nervous?" Thor laughed jovially.

I stopped listening then, wondering where the frost giants were and if they would make it to the weapons vault on time.

A servant appeared then, a cup of wine on a tray for Thor in his hands.

Thor hadn't noticed and made a jest at Loki. "…Well some use might and some use tricks, yes?"

Loki smirked and I noticed that the servant laughed more sincerely than he should have.

Loki's eyes flashed dangerously to the servant and he made a motion with his hand.

Three black snakes crawled out of the goblet and the servant cried out and dropped the glass in fear and the snakes fell on the floor and slithered around in circles.

"Loki, now that was a waste of good wine." Thor whined and Loki chuckled.

He looked at the servant, malice flashing in his eyes. "Oh that was just a bit of fun. Right, my friend?"

The servant nodded, wide-eyed. Loki made another motion with his hands and the snakes shimmered and disappeared.

Loki smiled at the servant in a way that I hoped he never smiled at me and the servant quickly cleaned up the mess of the spilled wine.

My body prickled and I darted out of the hall they were in. I sensed that the frost giants were in the city; although I didn't know how I knew that. Maybe Frigga had made me hyper sensitive to danger that may threaten her sons? I would have to ask her later. I didn't know how else I would have known where the Jotuns were.

I felt one of the princes summon me and I darted back into the hall. Thor and Loki both turned and looked at me, formless and smoky.

Thor looked the most serious that I had seen him yet and Loki didn't say anything to me.

"Perhaps it's better if you stay like that, Verbannen?" Thor mused. "It may be safer for you that way. Stay with Loki."

I wanted to spit that he didn't give a damn about my safety and he knew it, but I just darted to twist around by the doors, waiting for them to go.

"It's time." Loki said, turning to face the doors.

"You go on, take Verbannen with you." Thor said quietly.

Loki glanced at him strangely.

"Go on!" Thor repeated, nodding to the door. "I'll be after you shortly."

They stared at each other for a minute and Loki turned to walk out through the doorway and I followed him.

We entered the throne room where people were milling about and getting into their places for the ceremony. I realized that there were ten or twenty times the people here that there were at my ceremony; truly the entirety of Asgard was here, murmuring in excitement.

I hated crowds and my stress level was steadily climbing as everyone eventually filed into their places and waited for Thor to walk down the aisle to stand before the throne. Loki stood on the steps to the throne next to Frigga and opposite them stood three men and a women that I didn't recognize.

I cheering erupted from the crowd and I jumped a little bit and I saw Frigga glance down at me where I was hiding as best I could in Loki's shadow.

Thor strut down the hall in between the rows of people screaming and cheering and chanting his name.

He laughed loudly and raised his arms and the crowd screamed louder.

I glanced up at Loki. He was watching his brother with an unreadable mask.

Thor made his way up to the throne and knelt before Odin who sat on the throne, watching Thor with an immense amount of pride in his one eye. Thor winked at Frigga and she made an exasperated noise and shook her head.

"Thor Odinson." Odin said, swelling with pride. "My heir."

I saw Loki look down at the ground.

"My first-born." Odin went on. "Do you swear to protect the Nine realms?"

"I swear." Vowed Thor.

I could sense the frost giants getting closer.

"Do you swear to preserve the peace?"

"I swear."

"Do you swear to set aside all selfish ambition for the good of Asgard?"

"I swear!" Thor boomed, raising his hammer.

"Then on this day I, Odin Allfather…" Odin said slowly, tears of pride forming in his eye. "Proclaim you…"

I sensed a shift in the entire atmosphere and I knew exactly why.

"Frost giants!" Odin exclaimed.

There was a murmur of panic among the people and Odin instantly stormed down from the throne, Thor and Loki on his heels.

We came to the weapons vault to find the bodies of two guards and four frost giants lying on ground. A wall behind the altar with the Casket was closing, the giant metal golem that guarded the hall was retreating back into the wall.

Thor looked all around, making sure that none of the weapons had been disturbed and Odin walked up to the Casket and laid his hand on it.

"The Jotuns must pay for this." Thor spat after a minute.

"They have paid; with their lives." Odin said wearily.

I poked around the hall, investigating what was contained in it. Odin was too busy arguing with Thor over whether they should go to Jotunheim to confront the Jotuns or not.

Loki didn't say anything, he simply stood there and let them argue.

I solidified behind them, kneeling next to the bodies of one of the frost giants. It had massive burns all over its body and it was still smoldering.

Apparently this was an unwise thing to do.

"You." Thor snapped, whipping around to me. "Why didn't you stop them? That's you're purpose here, isn't it?"

"My purpose is to protect the two of you, not anyone else." I replied, standing.

Thor growled and turned back to Odin. "As king of Asgard –"

"BUT YOU'RE NOT KING." Odin bellowed.

Thor shut his mouth, looking livid.

They argued a bit more until Thor got so fed up that he marched out of the vault and stormed to the castle.

Loki trailed behind him, looking worried, but I wasn't convinced that it was genuine.

Thor ended up bellowing and flipping a table over and he sat down to fume on the steps.

I almost wished that he was king, just to watch him tear the palace apart with his bare hands.

Loki moved out from behind a pillar and gingerly sat next to Thor.

"It is unwise to be in my company right now, brother." He growled.

Loki didn't seem worried.

"My day of triumph, and now I'm a laughing stock." He fumed.

"…It'll come. In time." Loki said softly.

"What's this?" Cried a new voice and I saw those four people that had been standing opposite us come into the hall.

I darted to the other side of the hall and the woman saw me and watched me coldly for a minute.

Loki was saying something to Thor that I couldn't hear and I saw Thor get up.

"It's the only way to insure that they never cross us again." Thor said decisively.

"Thor, it's madness." Loki argued.

"Madness? What sort of madness?" One of the men, the one with the bushy red beard, said.

"We're going to Jotunheim." Thor said seriously and Loki put his head in his hand, looking irritated beyond measure.

The woman looked away from me and the four of them listened to what he had to say.

They argued at first, but it seemed futile to try and nothing was going to stop him. He convinced his friends to go, flattering them as he did. I learned the names of them; Fandral, Volstagg, Hogan, and Sif.

"And. Erm. Are we taking her?" Volstagg asked, nodding across the hall to me where I was curled around a pillar.

"Where we go she will follow." Loki said, standing and pursing his lips.

"Don't look so sour, Loki!" Thor laughed, clapping his brother on the shoulder. "This will yet be a day of triumph!"

"What a brilliant day! What a fine walk!" I boomed, mimicking Thor's voice and all of them whipped around to look at me. "I know the wolf can't find me!"

I darted to the other side of the room and adopted an animalistic growl. "Oh young prince… you must walk through those woods again and again, and you must be lucky to avoid the wolf every time…"

I darted up the ceiling, my voice getting louder and more animalistic with every word. "…But the wolf… the wolf only needs enough luck to find you once!"

None of them spoke for a minute, jarred by my parable.

"What do you mean Verbannen?" Thor demanded. "What wolf?"

I chuckled darkly, enjoying the startled looks on all of their faces as they stared up at me.

I couldn't tell if Sif or Loki looked more irritated, but they all agreed to go and so we began to get ready.

As they all got ready I noticed Loki looking worried when he thought no one was looking at him. He had seemed to be faking it earlier, but now I wasn't sure.

Everyone was saddling their horses when I noticed Loki slip off and say something to one of the guards. He turned away, grinning.

I wanted to just move with them in shadow, but Loki insisted that I would attract too much attention if I did that, so I ended up being stuck on his horse with him.

We arrived at the Bifrost, dismounting from the horses and walking toward Hiemdall who was standing at the entrance to the Bifrost, staring contemplatively into space.

"Leave this to me." Loki said to Thor, striding past him.

"Good Hiemdall –" Loki got out.

"You're not dressed warmly enough." Hiemdall rumbled.

"I'm sorry?" Loki clipped.

"You think that you can deceive me." Hiemdall said simply, his gaze unwavering.

Loki chuckled nervously. "You must be mistaken, we –"

"Enough." Thor barked and Loki fell silent, discouraged, and I felt annoyance toward Thor.

"Hiemdall, may we pass?" Thor demanded.

"Never has an enemy slipped my watch before this day." He mused. "I want to know how that happened."

"You have my word." Thor said, stalking past him.

We stood in front of the closed portal as Hiemdall sheathed his sword into the control mechanism for the Bifrost and the room around us began spinning.

"Be warned, that I will honor my sworn oath as this city's gatekeeper." Hiemdall said solemnly. "Should your return threaten the safety of Asgard, the portal will remain closed to you."

"Can't you just leave it open for us?" Volstagg joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"If the Bifrost were to be left open it would unleash power enough to destroy Jotunheim, with you upon it." He said eerily.

"I have no plans to die today." Thor assured him, looking pleased with himself.

"None do." Replied Hiemdall.

And with that, suddenly we had been sucked into the Bifrost and we were flying through space.


	4. Chapter 4

We landed on the icy surface of Jotunheim, the force of the Bifrost ringing in the air around us. And then it was silent.

No one spoke or moved, all of us surveying the frozen land.

"We shouldn't be here." Hogan said, breaking the silence. No one disagreed with him.

We started walking, trying to keep quiet. Storms often raged on Jotunheim, battering the place with wind and ice, but now there was hardly wind at all. A great tension was in the air, blocking out all sound.

I didn't show myself, I stayed as a shadow. I wanted to see the shock on the Jotuns faces when I appeared.

"Where are they?" Sif said in a hush.

"Hiding. These cowards always do." Thor replied in a loud voice that made us all cringe.

Immense arches made of ice loomed overhead and a bit of a far off one suddenly fell and crashed, echoing ear-splittingly in the silent air.

We made our way to the dilapidated palace and I flickered around the feet of the group, ready for something to attack us.

"You've come a long way to die, Asgardian." Came a booming growl from inside what seemed to be the throne room. The voice belonged to King Laufey, the ruler of the frost giants.

"I am Thor Odinson." Thor announced.

"We know who you are." The Laufey said, unimpressed.

"How did your people get into Asgard?" Thor demanded, cutting to the chase.

I saw movement on top of a small pillar and realized that what I had thought was ice was actually Laufey, only distinguishable from the ice by his blood red eyes.

Laufey growled, eyeing us coldly. "The house of Odin, is full of traitors."

"DO NOT DISHONOR MY FATHER WITH YOUR LIES." Thor boomed.

Laufey stared at us, looking like he really didn't care to fight with Thor.

"And why did you come here, to make peace? You long for battle, I can see it in your eyes. You're nothing but a boy." Laufey growled.

A frost giant walked up to stand before Thor and Loki, glaring down at them. He was likely ten feet tall and he made Thor look like an imp.

Thor moved to lunge at the Jotun, but Loki grabbed his arm.

"Thor, stop and think. Look around you, we're outnumbered." Loki hissed.

I curled around Loki's boot with the realization that there were hundreds of Jotuns around us, seemingly appearing from the ice.

"Know your place, brother." Thor snapped.

"You know not what your actions would unleash." Laufey went on slowly. "I do. Go, now, while I still allow it."

Thor glared at the frost giant and his king behind him, but he seemed to know that it was unwise to fight now.

"We will accept your most gracious offer." Loki said appealingly to Laufey.

Loki turned and walked slowly away. "Come on, brother." He spat.

The frost giant glared at Thor, but slowly, Thor turned to follow Loki.

I was almost disappointed.

"Run back home, little princess." The frost giant grunt chortled and Thor stopped cold.

"Damn." Loki said simply.

In an instant, Thor struck the Jotun with his hammer and he flew backward into a pillar with a sickening crunch.

"Next?" Thor taunted.

The Jotuns moved to attack and I whirled around Thor and Loki noticeably, giving the Jotuns pause as I solidified in front of them. They weren't stupid, they knew who I was.

We might have been able to just walk away then, but Thor demanded that I get out of his way and he threw his hammer into the mess of them, narrowly missing my head.

The frost giants attacked then, and I decided that we were beyond diplomacy, so I leapt onto one of the nearest frost giants and slammed his head into the ground.

All hell broke loose and I was relieved that Thor and Loki were indeed able to defend themselves and it looked like they weren't going to be dead weight to me.

Thor, especially, had power that matched mine, he was slaughtering drones of the frost giants with no problem, so I focused on Loki.

He preferred using magic when he fought, he preferred to throw spells at any of them that got too close instead of hand to hand combat.

He was standing by the cliff and I saw one of the Jotuns thundering toward him and I realized that he was going to tackle Loki off the side and I ran to save him, but the Jotun passed through him and fell to his death. Loki shimmered and disappeared and I saw the real Loki standing behind a pillar. He winked at me and I huffed and ripped the arm off of a Jotun that had swiped at me.

I was having a lovely time, leaping onto a singular Jotun and often ripping his throat out with my teeth or crushing his skull in my talons and I was soon covered in blood that was colored like their skin.

I heard Volstagg scream in pain and I turned to see him cradling his arm.

"Don't let them touch you!" He warned, looking down at his arm where his skin was blackened and burned.

He spoke a bit too late however, because right at that moment one seized me around the neck and I gasped as I felt his hands burning me, like I had been immersed in dry ice. I kicked his chest and he dropped me on the ground and I slit his ankle and he crashed to the ground where I finished him off.

One of the Jotuns got too close to Loki and grabbed his arm, breaking the armor off of his forearm.

I threw myself onto the frost giant and seized its neck and twisted and it fell to the ground, but Loki didn't move.

I opened my mouth to ask him if he was hurt, when I saw his arm where the Jotun had grabbed him.

Instead of his skin being blackened and burned, it had turned completely blue, the same sapphire color of the Jotuns…

Loki's eyes whipped up to me, wide and horrified and I just stared back for a heartbeat before I noticed a frost giant lumbering toward Loki behind him, his arm swinging to throw a dagger made of ice into Loki's back.

I disappeared and reappeared on the other side of Loki, the thrown dagger sinking into my stomach and I cried out in pain, but I didn't let that stop me and ripped it from my stomach and leapt on the Jotun, plunging it into his eye.

Loki threw a spell at one of the Jotuns that was attacking Sif and he stared at me, visibly shaken.

I stopped for a minute and clutched my stomach, chalk white blood pouring out of the wound onto my hands and I realized that it was stupid to have pulled the dagger out.

Another cry of pain and I whipped around to see Fandral, his shoulder impaled on a spike that had erupted from the groumd

"We need to leave." Loki realized, looking up to find Thor.

"THOR!" He shouted. "We must go!"

"Then go!" Thor shouted back, swinging his hammer into the head of another frost giant.

Loki glanced back to me and strode up to me, grabbing one of my arms and pulling me halfway on his shoulder.

"Can you walk?" He asked, his emerald eyes wide in panic.

"I'm fine." I hissed through my teeth. "Come on."

Volstagg lifted up Fandral and slung him over his shoulder and we began to retreat.

"Thor!" Sif shouted as we were forced back, but he didn't hear her. He was too busy throwing his hammer into the crowd and pummeling Jotuns with his bare fists.

I saw a crack appear in the ground that snaked up to one of the crude statues that the Jotuns had carved, but as the ice fell from it I realized that it wasn't a statue at all.

I swore and yanked my arm away from Loki and grabbed his wrist, encouraging him to run faster.

He whipped around to see the last of the ice crumble from an enormous blue monster that Laufey must have summoned. The thing shook itself and swung its huge flat head in our direction and bellowed, giving chase to us.

It plowed over Jotuns that were chasing us, gaining on us quickly and making the ground shake.

I heard an earsplitting clap of thunder and saw lightening streak down from the sky and the ground lurched so violently that I stumbled and nearly fell.

The frozen ground was breaking, spreading out from where Thor was toward us, and engulfing the Jotuns that weren't fast enough to outrun it.

The sinkhole caught up to us and took the monster that was on our heels. I saw it throw its tail at us in a last resort to kill us and I saw it heading right toward Sif.

I stopped and shoved her out of the way and the spikes on the monster's tail plunged into the ground right where she had been standing. I fell on top of Sif and the wind was knocked out of me for a second and I rolled off of her onto the ground.

My ears rang and I saw the rest of them running away from me through blurry eyes.

Oh well. I thought to myself. If I die here I'll just reanimate and follow them. At least then I can stop running, it burns to run…

I felt hands on me, forcing me up and I groaned.

"Get up, Verbannen!" I heard Sif's voice shout. "You're not dying here, get up!"

She hauled me upright and threw an arm around my waist and I shook my head.

Sif was pulling me without slowing down and I grit my teeth and forced my feet to move.

We made it back to where we had landed and I heard Volstagg shout "Hiemdall, open the bridge!"

For a second there was nothing, just silence and the snow.

Then an enormous claw grabbed the cliffside we stood in front of and the ground shook.

The beast that I had thought gone hauled itself up the cliff, its blood red eyes snaking over us and it roared.

With all the energy I had left I morphed into smoke and rose up in front of it, howling back at it.

I had its attention now, surely the others would have the sense to run.

It swiped at me, its claws passing through me, and I was about to retaliate when something crimson zoomed through me from behind and shot straight through the monster.

Thor landed in front of the creature as it fell, lifeless from the cliff. I crumbled to the ground, just managing to turn myself solid as I collapsed to my knees.

Loki knelt next to me, his hand covering my wound and he swore softly.

"Vey." Loki said quietly.

I managed to look up and I saw hundreds more Jotuns moving to stand in front of us, leering at us in malice.

I hissed through my teeth and forced myself upright, leaning on Loki. If I was going to expire here, which seemed inevitable now, I was taking at least a hundred down with me.

Just as they were about to clash with us, there was a thunderous boom that echoed though the icy land and a blinding light.

Odin appeared behind us on a stallion, sent by the Bifrost, and the Jotuns stopped.

"Father!" Thor shouted, the high of battle etched into his face. "We'll finish them together!"

"Silence!" Odin hissed.

Loki muttered a spell, his hand on my belly where I was still bleeding, and I felt my stomach stop burning at least and I sighed gratefully.

Laufey appeared before Odin, summoning ice to stand on before him.

"Allfather." He mused dangerously. "You look weary."

"Laufey, this is enough. Put an end to this, before there is farther bloodshed." Odin said loudly.

"It's too late for that now, your boy sought this out. He'll get what he came for: war." Laufey growled.

My vision was starting to get blurry and I missed bits and pieces of what they were talking about and Loki was pretty much keeping me upright at this point.

All of a sudden there was more blinding light and we were flying through space in a whirl of color and stars and then we were back on Asgard.

"Do you realize what you've done, what you've started?" Odin bellowed at Thor.

Loki looked up at them and then looked down at me.

"I'll take her to the healing room." Sif said, surprising me and reaching out to take me from Loki.

"I'm fine, I'll stay here." I said tightly, making myself stand upright.

"Go to the healing room Vey. Now." Loki ordered curtly.

I sighed a little but I let Sif take my arm and lead me out of the Bifrost.

I glanced back at Loki one more time, who looked like he was trying very hard to keep his composure and I wished I could have stayed with him.

Sif put me on her horse in front of her and Volstagg took Fandral and we were sped to the castle on horseback. I had to keep my jaw clenched tightly shut because jostling me around made my stomach _burn_ and Sif had to all but hold me up so that I wouldn't plummet from the horse.

"Is this your blood, the white fluid?" Sif inquired.

"Yes." I growled through my teeth.

"There is much of it." She stated.

"Yeah, believe me, I am aware." I grunted.

We made it to the infirmary without me blacking out and the healers stitched my stomach up the rest of the way from where it had started deep within.

I wouldn't let them touch my neck though, I insisted that they didn't need to touch the raw white burns, they would heal soon enough.

I left the healer's ward after fifteen or so minutes, barely giving them enough time to sew me back together before I marched out.

I stalked to the room in which Loki and Thor usually lounged about with Sif and the warriors three, but it was empty.

I assumed that Odin was just shouting himself hoarse at Thor and Loki, so I lay down on one of the cushioned couches, completely exhausted.

I had just closed my eyes when I heard someone walk into the lounge and I didn't move, hoping they would leave.

"Why did you save me?" Sif's voice demanded.

I slit one eye open to look at her, wondering why she cared.

"I don't know. Because I could, I guess." I replied.

"You didn't have to, you weren't ordered to." Sif went on. "You killed King Bor, why in the Nine would you _choose_ to help me, or, anyone for that matter?"

I opened both of my eyes and rolled my head to look her in the face.

"Why are you so distraught? Is it because you'd rather die than be helped by a vile thing like me?" I asked bitterly.

Sif studied me, frowning. "No… I just don't understand." She mumbled.

I closed my eyes again. "I didn't think about it. I just did in the heat of the chase."

That didn't seem to satisfy her however, and I didn't hear her leave.

"You're… so much different than the legends make you out to be." Sif mused. "When I was a girl I had heard told that you were a creature with a thousand eyes and a thousand teeth. That you hunted children for sport and if we were cruel then you'd come to take us away."

I sat up and looked into her eyes, anger bubbling up in my stomach.

"I'm no child killer." I hissed. "Children are innocent. Monsters hunt monsters."

Sif glanced down at the floor, deep in thought.

"My mother likely started that rumor." I added as an afterthought. "Cruel woman never liked me."

I felt Sif's eyes on me.

"You didn't let the healers rid you of your burns?" She asked.

"No. I don't like people touching me, especially ones that don't bother to hide their aversion of me." I replied, staring into the fire crackling in the middle of the room.

Sif didn't reply. She sat down on one of the couches on the other side of the fire.

Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogan walked in then, immersed in talk of the battle, laughing and joking.

I got off the couch and moved to the balcony that overlooked the city, staring at the Bifrost. _What was taking them so long_? I wondered.

After ten or so minutes the doors to the lounge opened and Loki walked in by himself.

"Where is Thor?" Fandral asked, as they all stood.

Loki was silent for a minute, glaring down at the floor. "…Father has banished him to Midgard."

"What?!" Exclaimed Volstagg. " _Banished_?!"

I strode out from the balcony, my white eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Father took from him his power, his title, everything, and cast him out to Midgard." Loki said, as though he was dazed.

The warriors three bombarded him with questions until he snapped that they should just go ask Odin and he stalked off.

I followed behind him in his shadow as he stormed off to the library to find some peace.

He paced back and forth on the tallest landing of the library, rage rolling off of him.

I solidified on an armchair near him, trying not to stare at him. Loki's arm… It wasn't possible…

Loki stopped cold and straightened up. He stared at nothing for an instant, then his eyes flashed to me.

"Vey I need you to cut my arm." Loki barked madly.

"Wha – Loki what are you talking about!?" I gaped at him, bewildered.

He strode up to me, rolling his sleeve up on his left arm. "Here, cut my arm, now."

"Loki for the gods' sake –"

"Verbannen do it _now_!" He barked.

I snapped my mouth shut, taken aback. He looked mad; his eyes were wide in rage and terror and he was breathing heavily.

I took his arm in my hand and slowly dragged a talon horizontally across his arm. Angry red blood bubbled up and I felt Loki relax a little.

I put my hand over it and he looked up at me.

"Loki, please." I said softly. "I know you're scared but don't ask me to hurt you."

Loki just stared down at me. Now that I was so close to him for the first time I realized that his skin did seem cold…

"What if I'm Jotun?" He hissed. "What if I'm a monster?"

"Then you'll be among friends." I replied.

He glanced down at his arm where my hand was on it. He gently took my hand off of his arm and held it, looking down at the red smeared on my black palm.

"Jotuns are hated and hunted among Asgardians, my own brother just slaughtered several hundred of them." Loki went on, shaking slightly.

I realized that empathy was stirring in my stomach. "Thor wouldn't hurt you."

"You don't know my brother." Loki whispered.

"I know that he loves you." I said firmly, grabbing his other hand with my free hand.

"…I'm so scared." Loki breathed.

"That's okay." I told him.

"I detest being afraid." Loki went on, barley above a whisper. "I've been able to control it all of my life, even if I was in the heat of battle, I was never afraid like I am now."

Loki was squeezing my hands, breathing heavily. I pulled my hands out of his and I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed his body.

"Hush, Loki." I soothed.

"What am I going to do?" He trembled, wrapping his arms around me in a moment of weakness. "Vey what am I going to do?"

"I don't know." I admitted. "But I'm going to be right here, whatever you do. I can kill every Asgardian on the face of this planet if they threaten you. You're not alone, Loki."

Loki's arms tightened around me. I didn't know why I was feeling so protective of Loki. It must have been Frigga's magic, but I didn't want Loki to feel as if he was facing this looming terror by himself.

Loki just gripped me for a few minutes, not saying a word.

He eventually let go of me and straightened up.

"I should confront my father about this." Loki mused, his emerald eyes distant.

I nodded and he glanced at me.

"Thank you for your counsel, Vey, but I would like to be left alone for a time." He rasped.

"Of course." I said. "I'll be in my room if you need me."

He dipped his head in understanding and I turned to walk away, but I paused.

"Why do you call me 'Vey' if I may ask?" I inquired.

"You dislike being called Verbannen and I would prefer not to get on your bad side." He replied, smirking slightly. "Goodnight."

I chuckled and morphed into smoke and retreated to my room.

I was exhausted for some reason, likely from my wounds and my lack of food or sleep.

I lay down in the large bed and curled up in the blankets. I soon fell asleep and I did something that I hadn't done in a thousand or so years; I had a dream.


End file.
